The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys, when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do "one last job" by an all-female squad of criminals. (from IMDb)

DreamWorks Animation has successfully carved out quite a legacy over the years, giving us some fun and memorable franchises like Shrek, How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, and now The Bad Guys. Seemingly taking a page out of the book of Despicable Me, The Bad Guys is a slick animated comedy that is also part Ocean's 11 - it's about a group of lovable thieves who get a small taste of what it feels like to do something good, and then decide to leave their life of crime behind them. The first film, which released in 2022, ended with the guys being rehabilitated and serving a year in prison to own up to their wrongdoing. Now, a few years have passed, and "The Bad Guys" are struggling to fit into society. They not only loved committing crimes in the past - they were GOOD at it. And they did it with style. The Bad Guys 2 opens five years ago when Tarantula - AKA "Webs," the team's tech savvy spider (voiced by Awkwafina), is along for her first mission with The Bad Guys. They end up stealing Wolf's signature ride we see in the first movie (that also, sadly, meets its demise at the end of the film), and everything seems to be going amazing for the team. It then jumps to present day and Wolf is seen driving a broken down heap and failing to land a real, respectable job. Since the first movie, they've made nice with the Chief of Police (now the Commissioner), and when a new thief appears on the scene, Wolf is eager to help apprehend them to get in the public's good graces. But do things get complicated? Of course they do.

With Sam Rockwell leading the pack as Wolf, and Ocean's 8 composer Daniel Pemberton returning to score the film, The Bad Guys continues to be a little "too cool for school." It's stylish and fun, but these "heroes" are anything but perfect, and their misdeeds aren't really condoned (Although the opening heist is pretty dang fun). The Bad Guys 2 continues the story established in the first movie more than retreads it, but it also heightens the style in unusual ways. For example, early on in the film, there's a big action sequence at a lucha libre match. It's about as over-the-top as it can get, with a tsunami (literally) of people chasing The Bad Guys out of the stadium at one point. It's bonkers - truly bonkers - but it's the kind of brand of silliness the first one established with a similar flood of mind-controlled guinea pigs in the film's climax. It reminded me of how sequels tend to look back at the previous film and then try to figure out how to top it, so here they took the finale and did a spin on it before the movie's mid-point. Other than that, the film treads a lot more new territory. And with the absurdity established pretty early on, several other totally silly things feel less jarring when they happen. But some of the action is quite literally out-of-this-world, and the creative team here keeps it fun and entertaining all the way through to the end.

The best things The Bad Guys has going for it is its titular team. As I alluded to earlier, Rockwell is fantastic as Wolf, and one of my favorite things about this cast. The dude just knows cool, and he knows how to sound cool. The rest of the team is a lot of fun, too, and this story gives several moments to keep us on our toes with them, too. Marc Maron's grumpy Snake continues to surprise and amuse, as well, as we find he even has a bizarre romance with a bird named Susan. Craig Robinson continues to delight as Shark, along with Zazie Beetz as Diane, the Governor/Crimson Paw, who continues the will they/won't they romance with Wolf. Without spoiling things too much (if you've seen a trailer, you already know, though), there's a new team of thieves who force The Bad Guys to pull a job with them, and it allows us to get the heist feel of the first movie while allowing our heroes to stay "good" in nature.

One could argue, and with good reason, that this is a sequel that certainly wasn't necessary, but it's definitely good to see these characters again. And as ridiculous as the movie gets, it never stops being fun to watch. Directors Pierre Perifel and JP Sans keep the movie thrilling - and even suspenseful at times - and the finale gets pretty extravagant. It all leads to the teasing of a possible new future for these characters - one that I'd totally be on board with if they decide to continue the story. Speaking of -- there's a mid-credits bonus scene that reveals the fate of a specific character, but nothing after the credits (except for a one-word callback to a funny moment from Snake earlier in the movie that pops up as the credits finish).

The content for The Bad Guys 2 is definitely similar to the first film. Some moments could be scary for little viewers - especially when Wolf briefly threatens a guy at the beginning of the movie, and some fight scenes get a little rough, including a villain grabbing the throat of a more heroic character and pinning them to the wall on more than one occasion. Some of the fighting is shown in slow motion, and at one point, a character's tooth is even knocked out of their mouth on impact. For language, there is one blatant use of "jack*ss" as an insult, and some suggested profanity, like "Holy shrimp," for example. There is some romantic content, like a little flirty exchanges between Diane and Wolf, as well as some interactions between Snake and Susan that have him completely swooning. After they tell the story of how they meet - which we see in flashback - it flashes back to the present and we see her head inside his mouth for a kind of bizarre intimate, kissing moment. The Bad Guys then react to the sight with the kind of surprise and disgust you'd expect.

The Bad Guys 2 isn't nearly as strong of a story as the first one, but it is a load of fun and it's a good outing for fans looking for more fun with these characters. Silly, over-the-top and at times just plain ridiculous, The Bad Guys 2 may not be the best sequel - even out this summer - but it's still a rollicking good time at the movies.